Starbucks Hidden Coffee Fee Class Action Lawsuit

The Starbucks hidden coffee fee class action lawsuit was filed after Massachusetts authorities fined Starbucks for the fee, which was assessed on coffee purchases of less than a pound but not stated on customers’ receipts. Starbucks dropped the hidden fee last month.

“Customers were not given notice of such a fee prior to purchasing such bags of coffee, nor were they given notice after their purchase on their receipt,” the Starbucks coffee fee class action lawsuit states. “It was a completely undisclosed fee that unsuspecting customers were paying at stores around the country.”

In response to the Massachusetts fine, Starbucks claimed the fee was imposed to cover its labor expenses of having an employee break open a pre-sealed 1-pound bag to sell customers a portion size of their choosing. Starbucks would then charge the customer for the portion of beans, plus the roughly $1.50 fee for the extra labor and packaging.

Starbucks told The Associated Press it didn’t sell many of these smaller packages and that it has not received complaints or faced fines until Massachusetts authorities fined the company $1,575. It’s estimated about 75,000 Massachusetts residents had paid the fee.

Starbucks eliminated the surcharge at stores nationwide on November 7 after the Massachusetts fine.

The Starbucks hidden fee class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of a proposed class of all U.S. persons who purchased Starbucks coffee weighing less than one pound within the past four years. It is seeking certification, restitution and disgorgement, statutory damages, and more.

A copy of the Starbucks Hidden Coffee Fee Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Bonnie Kurnick v. Starbucks Corporation, Case No. 11-cv-01985, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington.